


Distant Hearts

by felicityollies



Series: Quarantine and Chill [12]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Prison, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Pen Pals, Prison, Quarantine and Chill Fic Drive (Arrow TV 2012)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-21
Updated: 2020-04-21
Packaged: 2021-02-26 18:30:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,609
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23774305
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/felicityollies/pseuds/felicityollies
Summary: Felicity finds herself incredibly lonely during quarantine. She signs herself up for a prison pen pal program where she meets Oliver Queen.
Relationships: Oliver Queen/Felicity Smoak
Series: Quarantine and Chill [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1673152
Comments: 23
Kudos: 146
Collections: Quarantine and Chill Fic Drive 2020





	Distant Hearts

**Author's Note:**

> ok, so i kind of fell in love with this au while i was writing it,,, so after i'm done with bingo cards there will be more and it will be angsty because i already have the saddest backstory for oliver and you all will deal with it
> 
> but until then have some soft pen pals
> 
> this is for the "online" pen pal prompt for quarantine and chill fic drive

  


So far quarantine was Felicity’s least favorite thing. She didn’t spend that much time going out beforehand, but she would like the option to go out. Felicity actually missed her co-workers now that she spent every day working from home. There were no awkward conversations at the water cooler or forced karaoke nights with other IT people. No, she sat on her couch with her laptop most days. Or in her bed. With Netflix playing in the background. She missed contact with people that didn’t involve helping them get a virus off the computer. So, when she discovered a pen pal program, she leaped at the opportunity. 

The program was actually through the prison. The inmates were in quarantine as well, no contact with each other, no contact with their loved ones, and it was becoming rather difficult. The thought was that a pen pal would give them some contact with the outside world and help them through this hard time. Felicity was lonely, so why not pair up with another lonely person during all of this. When she received her inmate’s name, she declined to look up anything about him. She wanted to start fresh without knowing a single thing. It was only fair. 

“Oliver Queen,” she said as she pulled out a pen and paper. “We are doing this the old fashioned way.” 

In curling loops she wrote out her letter in a slick pink ink on a lined off white stationary. She thought it would be more fun to write out a letter to him. No one hand wrote letters anymore. It seemed more personal. 

_Dear Oliver, _

_My name is Felicity Smoak. You probably already know that because you were given the same information I was. Anyway! A little bit about me that you don’t know! I work in an IT department. It probably sounds boring, but it can be kind of interesting. Today, I taught someone how to defrag their own computer. Okay, that’s not very interesting. Most of the time I spend hours teaching people who are paid more than I make in a year how to use their own computers and it’s kind of depressing. I love my job anyway! _

_I’ve only actually been in Star City for about a year. I grew up in Las Vegas. I might be very good with a deck of cards ;) The city seems a lot quieter than Vegas, but that’s not a bad thing! Well, right now everything is quiet. I’ve been binging Netflix while I work. Shhh, don’t tell my boss! I know this is a short first letter, but I didn’t want to ramble on for days about myself. I do however want to know about you! _

_Yours truly,_

_ __ _

_ __ _

_Felicity_

Felicity tucked the letter in a pink envelope and wrote out Oliver’s name and the prison address on the envelope in the same hot pink pen. She used her floral stamp and stuck it in the corner. She held up the letter, beaming at her work. She could hardly wait for her weekly trip out of the house. Felicity shoved on her slippers and wrapped a hoodie around herself. There was a mailbox at the end of the block she could walk to. He would get it quicker and then she would have a letter in her hands in a couple of days. At least she hoped she would. 

The days passed by and every day she checked the mail for a letter from the prison. On day four, she started to worry that he wasn’t going to write her back. What if he didn’t like her letter? What if she was too forward or weird? She sulked on her couch on the sixth day, wondering what she had done wrong. She’d never had a pen pal before, but she didn’t think she was that much of a loser. 

Felicity shuffled her way down to her mailbox on the first floor of her apartment building. She turned the key and popped the door open. Her hand reached inside to tug out the pile of mail. She stood there and flipped through it. Bill, bill, bill. Her eyes widened. A letter from the prison. She squealed loudly and jumped up and down. Her neighbor, who also happened to be getting her mail, eyed her warily. 

“Sorry.” She slammed her mailbox shut. “Uh social distancing.” She ran away back up the stairs. 

Felicity scrambled into the apartment and shut the door tight. She flung the rest of the mail onto her dining room table. She gripped the letter and sat down on her couch. Her hands shook with excitement. Carefully, she opened it up and pulled the letter out. It was a crisp white piece of paper. Oliver’s handwriting was a quick, slashing cursive. She was so excited she could barely calm down enough to read it. 

“Okay, Felicity, breathe.” 

She sucked in a deep breath and held out the paper in front of her face. 

_Dear Felicity,_

_I’m Oliver, but you already knew that ;) Your job does sound… interesting? I don’t know if I would want to do that every day. You must be incredibly smart to work in IT, though. And good with cards? I assume I should never play poker with you… Even when I went to Vegas I wasn’t very good and that was a long time ago. Is Neflix a big thing now? Do they still mail out DVDs? I don’t watch a lot of television or movies anymore. I spend more time reading. I’m working my way through the Harry Potter novels at the moment :) Have you read those? I also work in the prison library. It doesn’t pay very much, but it’s nice and quiet._

_Don’t be afraid to ramble. I want to get to know you. _

_O. Q_

Felicity smiled wide and hugged the letter. She and Oliver were going to become good friends. She could already tell. He seemed like a sweet man. A little out of touch with the rest of the world, but that was completely understandable. She could update him on what was going on. That made her wonder if he ever had any visitors. Shouldn’t he have family to talk to him about these kinds of things? She frowned, but she didn’t think she was going to ask about that. It was kind of rude. 

Felicity pulled out her stationary and set out to write her second letter.

_Oliver,_

_I could play the pants off of you, literally depending on what kind of poker we are playing. Not that I’m bragging… or trying to hit on you. I kind of wish this was an erasable pen! Oh and as far as being smart I am a certifiable genius… it’s not bragging if it’s true. I went to MIT and graduated at nineteen. Still not bragging. Um I think you can still get DVDs from Netflix? It’s a streaming service now, so you can use it on your computer and your T.V and instantly watch. It’s terrible in the way that people sit on their butts for hours on end and watch television shows in one shot. I have read Harry Potter! I love those books! Hermione!!! I mean… I enjoyed those books when I was a kid. You know they were cool. Which book are you on? _

_Oh, the library. I have a feeling it’s much more peaceful than the IT department. And look you got me to ramble. I hope you enjoyed it ;)_

_Yours Truly,_

_Felicity_

The letter went into the mailbox. She only had to wait three days this time. Maybe he was nervous the first time. She could see that being true. This was a whole new situation. She was a stranger. And kind of weird. Felicity really liked Oliver and didn’t want him to be nervous. How could she like someone after one short letter? She didn’t know, but she did. There was something so genuine about his letter. She could tell he wanted someone to talk to. Needed someone and she was going to be that person.

_Felicity,_

_I have to admit I laughed reading your letter. Are you sure you’re not bragging at least a little? Oh that’s a lot different than the Netflix I remember. I think I would still prefer reading. I just started The Prisoner of Azkaban. I’m really enjoying it so far. How did I know you would like Hermione the best? I like her too. Harry is probably my favorite, but Lupin is becoming very interesting. Would it be weird if I said I enjoyed your rambling? It was very cute. I really like the library. I used to work in the kitchen. I thought I would like the cooking, but it wasn’t that great. The other men were…. uninspired with their food. Then when lunch time rolled around, serving it up wasn’t always the best. Not everyone appreciates what you do, you know? Books are a lot kinder than other people. _

_O. Q_

Felicity frowned at the last few lines. There was a deep and sad man hiding in these lines. She hugged the page to her chest for a different reason this time. She knew that being in prison wasn’t exactly a happy thing, but she wanted to know more. She wanted to crack this walnut and get deep inside of him. Felicity was there to talk to him, to be his friend, but she knew it would take time to get there. She didn’t know how it happened, but within a couple of letters, she had grown to care about this man. There was just something about him.

**Author's Note:**

> if anyone has a better idea on how to format the letter pls lemme know ok
> 
> tumblr: felicityollies  
twitter: felicityollies


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